Packing device



NOV. 25, 1930. Q w GERLACH 1,783,079

PACKING DEVICE Filed Feb. 2o, 1930 Patented Nov. 25, 1930 'UNITED STATES' PATENT OFFICE A CHARLES W. CERLACII, or WHEATON, ILLINOIS,v AssiGNOR {IOCHICAGO MILL `AND 4ILUIVIBER CORPORATION, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION or DELAWARE PACKING DEVICE Application filedV VFebruary 20, 193.` Serial No. 429,846`

rlihis invention relates to packing devices and more "particularly to a' construction and arrangementgfor economically and quickly packing fine-cabinets and similar articles of furniture. VOne object of the invention is to provide a construction of this type Which will provide an extremely safe and efficient packing device Which Will permit the most expensive and highly flnishedcabinets to be handled and shipped with a maximum amount of safety. A furtherobj ect of the invention is'to provide an improved spacing construction for maintaining `thecabinet Or other articlespaced from the interior of the packing case and at the same time to simplify the method of packing. a

Another objectof my invention isV to pro- Vvide a packing case for a cabinet or other article, which can be opened by an unskilled Workman, With an vinternal reinforcing Vand spacing frame which can be` openedl sulficiently to permit removal vof thecabinet after one ofthe casingivallshas been released Without the use of a tool. Still another object is to provide a packing case Witlian internal frame that can be opened and replaced n for unpacking and re}'iackiiig Without damage to the frame members.

To these and other endsthe invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, `all as will be .hereinafter more the packing Acase taken substantially along" line 2-2 of Figure 1; ,and i Figure 3isa fragmentary detail v iewxof one form of packing materialused With the present invention.

, Similar reference `numerals throughout theV scveralvievvsindicate the same parts. A

The present embodimentl ofthe invention provides aflsafe and effective packing construction of a simple and readily assembled forni'whichis particularly adapted for use with fine articles of furniture such asradio alnd phonograph cabinets and' similar artic es. i

Referringmore particularly to the dran`1` ings there isshovvnat `5 a packing case of more or .less conventional form Which comprises a top Wall 6, bottom Wall 7 andside Walls 8, 9, l0 and 11.lAv The top, bottom and side Walls may be madein various Ways and of various sorts of materials but, in the pres-` ent instance, they are illustrated as panelled members with a main Wall portion ofthin material such as three ply veneer or plywood and a frame to'vvhich the main Wall portion is nailed;V As this construction is more or less common it requires no further description.

The top, bottom and side Walls!` are constructedlin proper sizes at the factory and are'shipped to the user in knock-down condition in-order to conserve space in shipment. and storage. i

In orderto safely p a packing case such as illustrated means are provided for spacing it from Contact with the interiorof the walls. `For thispurpose the present `invention provides a spacing means in the form what may be termed an open collar comprising a plurality of sections Or spacing members 12, 13, lli and l5 case and certain others of which are prefer carry a cabinet Within ably unsecuredbut are maintained in place `by reason of an interfitting4 arrangement between the ends of vthe spacing members. JV

In` the present instance spacing membersv 12and13 are preferably secured yin place Y againstthe side Walls `8 and 9 in any desired 'y manner Jas by driving nails or staplestlirough the side Walls, from their outer side, `and into the spacing members 12 and 13. The spacing, members may be secured` to theside Walls either atfthe factory of the manufacturer` or i at the factory of thevuser, `Whichever method maybe deemed` preferable under existing conditions`-` y n, l

The spacing l. members` are preferably formed so as to beinterlitted With `each other' at their ends and for this purpose, inthe present embodiment of the invention, the spacing members 12 and 13 are grooved at their ends as shown at 16 and the members 14 and 15 are provided with a tongue 17 their ends adapted to lit within the grooves 1G. Obviously, this arrangement is not always necessary as it is equally feasible to reverse the arrangement just described, or each spacing member could be provided with a tongue at one end and a groove at the other end `to cooperate with complementary elements on an adjacent spacing member.

As the spacing members are designed to hold the cabinet within the packing case it is desirable to provide means for preventing marring of the cabinet by these spacing members. 1n the present instance this means comprises a packing strip 1S preferably in the form of a length of libre board or strong paper to one side of which is secured a layer of soft nonscratching material such as crinkled tissue paper indicated at 19. Any soft packing material may be used for this purpose but this particular assembly of a soft crinkled paper with a strong libre sheet has been found especially desirable due to its cheapness and the ease with which it may be applied. rEhis packing strip is applied to a cabinet by extending it around all the finished faces and tacking it to the back of the cabinet if the back is unfinished. TWhere the back of the cabinet is also finished the strip can be held in place by wrapping it around so as to overlap at a point where the strip,

a b i reason of ad`acent )ro'ecting iortions of the cabinet, does not contact the finished surface thereof. At this point the strip may be secured in any desired manner as by means of stitching with a short length of cord.

In order to space the top of the cabinet from the top of the packing ease a spacing member 2O may be employed with a piece of packing strip 18 placed therebeneath so as to protect the surface of the cabinet.

A preferred method of assembling a packing case with the device of the present invention will now be described. The user will select the desired sizes of top, bottom and side walls from his storage supply of knockdown parts. If the side walls do not Vhave spacing members secured thereto the user will proceed to secure these spacing members, such as members 12 and 13, to the respective side wallsS and 9. r1`he top and bottom'of the packing case are next assembled with the side walls 8 and 9 after which the case is ready to receive one of the other side Walls, such as the rear side wall 10. Before securk ing the side wall 10 the workman will position the spacing member 14 so that its tongue portions 17, 17 will be received Within the grooves 16, 16 at the respective ends of spacing members 12 and 13. Vhen spacing member 14 is so assembled with the spacing members 12 and 13 it will be held against movement in three directions.

Then the spacing member 14 has been so positioned the workman will next secure the rear side wall 10 in place for assembly which may be done by nailing it to the edges of top wall G, bottom wall 7 and the two side walls 8 and 9. 7 hen the rear side wall 1U is so secured to the other walls it will prevent the spacing member 14 from movement in :in outward direction as will be obvious. Thus, the spacing member 14 is held in position without the necessity of its being nailed or otherwise directly secured to the other spacing members 12 and 13 or to any of the walls.

Having assembled the packing case thusl far the workman next applies packing strip 18 on to the cabinet as previously described and in the position indicated in Fig. 1. "When the cabinet has been placed in the packing case the strip 18 will lie between the cabinet and the spacing members and protect the finished surface from being marred by direct contact with such members.

Wvhen the packing strip is in place on the cabinet the workman will then slide the cabinet into'the packing case through the open front, see Fig. 1. lith the cabinet thus as sembled within the packing case the workman next fits into place the remaining spacing member 15 so that its tongues 17, 17 will be received in grooves 16, 1G. rl`he front side wall 11 Will next be nailed into place thus securing spacing member 15 from movement in outward direction. This spacing member, as in the case of spacing member 14., will be held in proper position within the packing case without nailing or otherwise directly securing it either to the adjoining spacing members or to any of the walls.

As indicated in Fig. 1, two sets of spacing members may be employed, one set being disposed near the upper end of the cabinet and the other set being disposed near the lower end of the cabinet proper and above the point where the legs are joined to it.

Means may be employed, if desired, for supporting the cabinet so that no weight will be borne by its legs. A suitable arrangement for this purpose is shown in my prior Patent No. 1,694,973, granted Dec. 11, 1928.

After the cabinet has been placed in position within the packing case and before the case is entirely sealed, the spacing member 20 will be inserted in place to space the top of the cabinet from the top G of the packing` case. As before described, a piece of packing material 18 will be employ-ed to lie betwceii thespacing member 20 and the top of the cabinet.

The method of unpacking a cabinet which has been packed in the manner herein described is quite simple. All that is necessary to be done is to carefully pry loose one of the Vside walls (either the front or the back) from its lattachment to the adjoining walls. When this has been donev it is only necessary to remove thespacing `member or members l5 and slide the cabinet out "of the packing case andneXt remove the packing strips 18 after which the cabinet is ready to be put into use.

From the foregoing it' is apparent that ing members and the cabinet may be formed Y from inexpensive materials and may be quickly secured in place with a minimum of labor to provide an effective protection for f the finished sides of a cabinet. The present packing case, furthermore, is extremely easy to unpack and, since the unpacking operation requires no nails or screws to be withdrawn other than the nails or screws which hold the frontwall in place, there is less likelihood of marring the cabinet than where a hammer or screw-driver is necessary in order to remove tlie spacing members from contact with the cabinet. Y

The construction and'method of packing of the presentinvention are quite advantageous in the radio industry. The manufacture of radio receivingl units and radio cabinets is generally carried on by separate concerns. The cabinet manufacturer makes a cabinet designed to fit a particular radio unit; this cabinet is then shipped to the jobber or wholesaler who also receives the radio units to be fitted into the cabinets. Thus, by reason of the extreme ease and facility with which a cabinet may be unpacked. and then repacked, the jobbers problem of assembling the radio unit with the cabinet is greatly simplified. lt is but thematter of a few minutes to remove the front wall of a packing case containing an empty cabinet, then .to withdraw the cabinet, removing its packing strip or strips, inserting the radio unit Within `the cabinet, then repacking the cabinet and sealing it within its packing case.

`It is apparent that the voperationsinvolved in assembling a radio unit with a cabinet may be vcarried out by Workmen who are relatively unskilled. This is due largely to the fact that it is possible to remove the j spacing members from their Contact with the cabinet without withdrawing nails or retain walls of the case as top and bottomwalls, and the others as side Walls. that' the terms of the claims are not to be thus limited. Any wall section, for example the topsection, may be the one seeuredin position last, and this may be termed the closure wall.

l/Vhile the present description sets forth a" It is obvious preferred embodiment ofthe invention,` nu- `merous changes may be made in the construction and process of assembly without departing from the spirit of the invention, auditis therefore desired that the present embodiment be consideredin all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference beinghad to the appended claims rather than to `the foregoing description toindicate the scope of;

the invention.

Iclaim:

l. A packing construction .for cabinets comprising a top, bottom and two side walls, a` spacing member secured in place against each of the side walls, an additional spacing member adapted tovbe inteifitted with the adjacent ends of said first mentioned spacing members whereby said additional .spacing member is held from movement inwardly,

upwardly `and downwardly, and an addi-vV tional side wall adapted to be secured` in place against said top, bottom and first inentionedside walls, said additional side wall, servingas the sole means for holding said last mentioned spacing member from outward movement. Y i Y Y 2. A packing i construction for cabinets comprising a top, bottom and two side walls,

a spacing member secured in place against the inside of each `of the side walls, an additional spacing member extending between corresponding ends of the first mentioned spacing members and having its ends interfitted with the` respective adjacent ends of` saidfirst mentioned spacing members to pre-` vent displacement of the said ends in three directions, and an additional sidewall adapt ed to be secured in place against said top, bottom and first mentioned side walls and serving as the sole means for preventing displacement of said additionalspacing member in a fourth direction.

icc

3. -A packing construction for cabinets comprising a top, bottomand two side walls,

a spacing member secured to the inside of i each side wall, an additional spacing member i `adaptedto have its ends interlitted with adj acent ends of said first mentioned" spacing n members by a tongue andgroove arrange-` Y mentwhereby said additionalspacing member willbe held fronidisplacement in all but an 'outward direction, and an additional side wall vsecured against said top, bottoni andl first mentioned side walls and serving as the sole means to prevent outward movement of A the'additionalspacing member. i 4. A` packing constructionl for cabinets comprising a top, bottom, and two side Walls, spacing members secured to both of said side Walls, horizontal grooves in the ends ot said spacing members, an additional spacing member provided with tongues at its ends adapted, respectively to engage Within the grooves of adjacent ends ot said First mentioned spacing members and hold said additional spacing member from movement in all but an outward direction, and a third side Wall adapted to be secured in place against said top, bottom and first mentioned side Walls thereby serving as the sole means to prercnt outward movement of said additional spacing member.

5. A method ot packing cabinets which comprises providing a sectional, six Wall packing case, securing tivo opposed side Walls respectively to the top and bottom Walls of said packing case, securing a grooved spacing member to the inner side ot each side Wall, assembling a tongued spacing member with said irst mentioned spacing members so that the tongues thereof enter the grooves ot said tirst mentioned spacing members, slidingl a cabinet into place Within said packing case, next assembling a ourth tongned spacing member with its tongues received into the grooves of said side Wall spacing members, and linally securing the fourth side Wall in place against the top, bottom, and iirst mentioned side walls.

6. A packing case for cabinets or similar articles of furniture comprising` six Wall sections adapted to complet-ely enclose said cabinet, one of said Wall sections being removable and constituting a closure Wall, and means associated with said packing case for maintaining said cabinet spaced Afrom at least some ot said Wall sections, said means comprising a spacing member secured to each ot two oppositely disposed Wall sections, an additional spacing member adapted to space said cabinet from said closure Wall and extending between corresponding sides of said oppositely disposed Wall sections which have spacing members secured theretov` the respective adjacent ends of said three spacing members being slidably interhtted by the provision of grooves formed in certain otl said ends adapted to receive the other of said ends and thus hold the ends ot said additional spacing member from movement in three directions transversely to its longitudinal axis, said closure Wall serving, when secured in place to its adjacent companion Walls, to hold said last mentioned spacing member from movement in a fourth direction.

7. A packing case having an internal spacing and reinforcing trame in close Contact with the four side Walls ot' the case, at least two members ot' the frame being secured'to opposite side walls ot the case7 and at least one member .being freely removable out- Wardly from the other members when its corresponding side Wall is released, but secured against movement in `either direction parallel to the plane of said Wall by means on the trame members.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 15th day of February, 1930.

CHRLES WV. GERLACH. 

